The idea behind Who Won the Week is for you to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.
I will be posting this prompt on Sunday mornings (my time). If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.
Unlike last Sunday, where I was unable to choose a clear winner, this week was easy. The winner this week is Joe Biden, the President of the United States.
With more mass shootings and a rise of gun violence in the country, and with Republicans in both Congress and state legislatures refusing to take any action to stem the tide of gun violence, other than with “thoughts and prayers,” Joe Biden acted. He issued a series of executive actions designed to address gun violence. And he pledged to push for sweeping changes to the country’s gun laws.
Biden said, “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and it’s an international embarrassment. The idea that we have so many people dying every single day from gun violence in America is a blemish on our character as nation.”
As president, there is very little that Biden can unilaterally do in this case, but he did sign executive actions this past Thursday focusing on some relatively “low hanging fruit.”
The DOJ will issue a proposed rule to help stop the proliferation of “ghost guns.” Ghost guns are homemade weapons that are hard to trace and where gun kit buyers don’t have to submit to a background check.
The DOJ will also issue a proposed rule to make clear when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act.
It will also publish model “red flag” legislation for states. Red flag laws allow family members or law enforcement to petition for a court order temporarily barring people in crisis from accessing firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others.
The DOJ will also issue a new annual report on firearms trafficking, which is one way firearms are diverted into the illegal market where they can easily end up in the hands of dangerous individuals.
Biden nominated David Chipman, a veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), where he spent 25 years as a special agent, to serve as ATF director. ATF is the key agency charged with enforcing our gun laws, and it needs a confirmed director in order to do the job to the best of its ability. But ATF has not had a confirmed director since 2015.
These executive actions are just a start — small steps — in the fight to do something about gun violence in America, but they sure beat thoughts and prayers.
What about you? Who (or what) do you think won the week?
Image credit: Anson Stevens-Bollen
The Trump Administration has granted Defense Distributed, a Libertarian group, the right to publish its blueprints for an untraceable, single-shot plastic handgun called “The Liberator” on the internet.
This, That, and the Other 